Andreas Halvorsen (Trades, Portfolio), whose Viking Global Investors hedge fund manages $25 billion, acquired 15 stocks in the fourth quarter, he revealed last week.
The largest positions established during the quarter were of companies Adobe Inc. (ADBE, Financial), Moderna Inc. (MRNA, Financial), American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL, Financial), Boeing (BA, Financial) and Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, Financial). With 22 stock sales, Halvorsen’s portfolio saw 47% turnover from the previous quarter.
He also stretched health care, the largest sector represented in the long equity portfolio, to the highest level in more than two years at 26.28% of holdings from 20.13% in the previous quarter. Halvorsen’s investments in tech stocks, the second-largest sector represented, doubled its weighting to 25.35% of the portfolio from 12.22% in the previous quarter.
At fourth quarter-end, Halvorsen’s portfolio listed 57 stocks, valued in aggregate around $17.57 billion. Alibaba Group Holdings (BABA, Financial), Anthem Inc. (ANTM, Financial) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT, Financial) dominated around a quarter of the portfolio as the three largest holdings.
Viking Global, founded in 1999, describes its approach as “research intensive” and “long-term focused,” using “fundamental analysis” to pick stocks, with particular emphasis on business models, fundamentals, quality of management teams and secular industry trends.
The Greenwich, Connecticut firm lost $600 million in 2018 but held its spot as the eighth most profitable hedge fund, with $25.4 billion in net gains since inception, according to research from LCH Investments NV. Of the 20 most profitable funds, only Steve Mandel (Trades, Portfolio)’s Lone Pine Capital lost more in 2018, with $1.3 billion in net losses. In 2017, Halvorsen generated the third-largest net gains on the rankings, making $4.0 billion.
Fourth-quarter buys
Halvorsen purchased 2,781,472 shares of Adobe Inc., giving it 3.58% portfolio weight. The stock’s fourth-quarter share price averaged $240.
Adobe Inc. has a market cap of $125.74 billion; its shares were traded around $257.81 with a price-earnings ratio of 49.58 and price-sales ratio of 14.20. Adobe Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 8.70% over the past 10 years.
Moderna Inc. (MRNA, Financial)
Halvorsen purchased 17,081,164 shares of Moderna Inc., giving it 1.48% portfolio weight. The stock’s fourth-quarter share price averaged $16.
Moderna Inc. has a market cap of $6.85 billion; its shares were traded around $20.83.
American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL, Financial)
Halvorsen purchased 5,759,432 shares, giving it 1.05% portfolio weight. The stock’s fourth-quarter share price averaged $35.
American Airlines Group Inc. has a market cap of $16.95 billion; its shares were traded around $35.47 with a price-earnings ratio of 11.66 and price-sales ratio of 0.38. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of American Airlines Group Inc. is 1.13%. The forward dividend yield of American Airlines Group Inc. is 1.14%.
Halvorsen purchased 556,964 shares of Boeing Co., giving it 1.02% portfolio weight. The stock’s fourth-quarter share price averaged $344.
Boeing Co. has a market cap of $235.18 billion; its shares were traded around $416.26 with a price-earnings ratio of 23.33 and price-sales ratio of 2.41. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Boeing Co. is 1.72%. The forward dividend yield of Boeing Co. is 1.97%. Boeing Co. had an annual average earnings growth of 12.20% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Boeing Co. the business predictability rank of 4.5-star.
Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, Financial)
Halvorsen purchased 152,714 shares of Alphabet Inc., giving it 0.9% portfolio weight. The stock’s fourth-quarter share price averaged $1,066.
Alphabet Inc. has a market cap of $779.69 billion; its shares were traded around $1,118.56 with a price-earnings ratio of 25.74 and price-sales ratio of 5.97. Alphabet Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 15.10% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Alphabet Inc. the business predictability rank of 3.5-star.
See Andreas Halvorsen (Trades, Portfolio)’s portfolio here.
